Tough days.

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My furnace seems to be broken. It keeps clicking on and off without warming the place. At 66 degrees, it is a bit chilly. I suppose I should shower then put on some clothes, it might help some. School just took a leap. The professor indicated class would become easier. It has not. Now, not even with the book and notes can I solve the homework problems. The quizzes and tests will become abysmal, well, more abysmal. I guess that is how it goes. I have a physics test coming up too. I have been studying, but it is a lot of material and rather tricky. I am doing better in physics but that can change. I will just do what I can do and hope for the best.

I am beginning to sort things here in the cave. I have gone through my dry and canned goods, tossing most. Some of it is too old, some of it is too arcane (or already opened) to be offered to a food bank, so it must go. I intend to cook very little, if at all, between now and the time I leave. I will begin going through other rooms as well. Bit by bit, games, books, clothes, and equipment will have to be sorted, much of it to be tossed or given away. I will be keeping about a quarter of my clothes, most of my bedding, most of my equipment and cooking gear, and some of my electronics. I would guess I will be tossing or giving out ¾ of what I own, and good riddance. I suppose I could have hoped for a house fire, but that sounds more complicated than not.

The illness remains, if slightly lesser today. My stomach, when not in pain, feels as if I have a weight in it. It is like I just ate a huge steak. It feels full and tight. When I eat on top of it, I get the, of late, usual results. I guess this is just life.

I am surprised we have not been hit by winter yet. We have had two snows. One lasted less than it took to land and was of a short duration. The other was a longer duration but to the same effect. It has been cool, but not cold or frigid yet. I am expecting a very cold winter, truth be told. It was not just what I have heard, I just have a feeling about things (which is probably as wrong as often as it is right, for all I know). Then again, I never really check mean temperatures, snow fall, or actual parameters after a winter has passed in any case. A bad winter is a feeling more than a measurement of any kind. Being that they are subjective, comparisons are difficult. Some of that is fair, however. Though, for example, the temperatures for one winter are actually higher, all around, than another winter, if the cooler winter is actually more stable and slow to change temperature, the warmer winter may actually be harsher from the human and animal aspect. For a more explicit example, if one winter is 30F average, but drops from 40 to 20 in moment or hours, and can flip back and forth frequently and quickly, illness and discomfort would increase in my opinion. While a winter that is 25F average, but never changes temperature quickly or often would be better, as I could adjust more readily. Urhm, that is, within certain parameters. A 30F average variable winter versus a -20F… no, -40F winter, I would take the first. Anyway.

I best get back to studies. I will not be able to get much on the one class, but that seems to be the way it is supposed to be. Perhaps they want us to congregate and work together on this stuff, find outside sources, or something. I have no such capacity, so I have to take my lumps. I do not think we were given the homework in time for me to go in to office hours yesterday. I will go in tomorrow, but it will be too late to help as it is right before my first class and then I have that class right after that. It could help with the quiz, though I doubt that too. Oh well, such is engineering school. At least I do not have 4 or 5 of these classes.